Ignition-tape for miners&#39; safety-lamps.



F. FEAR, A. E. NALDRETT & W. C. NICODEMUS.

' IGNITION TAPE FOR MINERS SAFETY LAMPS.

I APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22. l9l5.

1,275,543. Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

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length of paper, but it is to be understood that we may employ any material suitable for the purpose as the base for the ignition tape.

The next step in the production of the wick consists in saturating or impregnating the fibrous absorbent material of the wick with sulfur or equivalent inflammable substance. In carrying out this part of the invention we prefer to heat a mass or charge of sulfur within a suitable tank until the sulfur is reduced to a liquid or semi-liquid state, whereupon the fibrous wick is run through the sulfur bath so as to become saturated or impregnated therewith. The next step in the process consists in applying at regular intervals the pellets C of ignitible material. These pellets are applied to one surface only of the flexible strip; they are spaced at suitable intervals apart; they are applied to the wick subsequent to the saturation or impregnation thereof with the sulfur; they may consist of any suitable match or igniting composition, and it is important that these ignitible pellets shall be exposed or be uncoated by any other material.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings there is illustrated a form of apparatus which we have devised for the economical manufacture of the ignition tapes according to this invention. A number of reels 10 are mounted in a suitable stand or frame 11, each reel being wound with the fibrous wick suitable for the purposes of the invention. The wicks A extend from the reels over a guide sheave 11 and below another guide sheave 12 and over a third guide sheave 13. The guide sheave 12 is mounted within a tank 14 adapted to contain the sulfur material and be heated by a burner 15, the latter being of any suitable nature, such as a gas burner.

The sheave 13 is at the delivery end of the tank 14, and between the sheaves 12 and 13 is positioned a scraper 16 of any suitable character, the same being adapted for frictional contact with the saturated wicks for the purpose of removing the excess sulfur material. The burner 15 heats the tank to such a temperature as will liquefy the sulfur contained therein, and thus the sulfur is kept in a condition whereby it is readily absorbed by the fibrous wicks. In leaving the sulfur tank the fibrous wicks run beneath a direction sheave 17 on a frame 18 adjacent to a drying chamber 19. From the sheave 17 the wicks run upwardly to a direction sheave 20, thence to and around another direction sheave 21, whereby the fibrous wicks are led in a path over the composition tank 22, the latter containing the ignitible or match composition. Extending across the composition tank 22 is a shaft 23 which carries a series of rotary members,

one of which is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The

shaft 23 is driven by a belt 24 from a suitable motor 25. Each rotary member 26 on the shaft 23 is provided with a series of radial teeth 27 separated by intervening gullets Or spaces 28, the bottoms of which are beveled as at 29 so as to permit the free discharge of the composition from the feed wheel, the sharp edges of the gullets allowing the composition to fall back freely from the end faces of the teeth. The outer edge of each tooth is of a width equal to the thickness of the wheel, and in said outer edge of each tooth 27 is provided a groove or pocket 30, the sides of which are inclined and the outer end of which is open, see Figs. 4; and 5. As the shaft is rotated by the motor, .the wheel 26 is turned within the tank and the composition fills the grooves or pockets 30 of the teeth 27. The rotation of the wheel brings the ends of the teeth into contact with one surface of the tape A, whereby the ignitible composition is applied in regular spaced order by the action of the rotating wheel in contact with the running tape. It will be noted that the composition fills the pockets or grooves 30 in the ends of the teeth, and thus a predetermined quantity of the composition is supplied by each tooth to the tape, the quantity thus supplied to the tape being suflicient to produce the required pellet and said pellets being spaced regularly on the tape by the rotary action of the feed wheel and by the running movement of the tape. After leaving the direction sheave 21, the tape is carried through the drying chamber 19 by suitable wheels 32, and thence the prepared tape is conducted to suitable winding mechanismby the operation of which the coated material provided with the pellets is wound into coils or reels substantially of the form shown in Fig. 1.

The mode of using the prepared ignition tape will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, but when the coiled material is to be employed as a means for lighting miners safety lamps, it is preferred to position said coiled material within an igniting device of one construction or another, a suitable form of igniting device being shown in Patent No. 612,293. By operating the igniting device the length of the material is fed for a predetermined distance, and during the feed operation one of the ignitible pellets is frictionally acted upon by the igniting device for the purpose of producing a flame which sets fire to the sulfur coated fibrous wick, whereby the resulting flame is rendered available for use in lighting miners safety lamps.

A tape constructed in accordance with this invention possesses two important functions, first, the igniting pellets are exposed so as to be frictionally operated upon by the moving parts of the igniting device so as to operate with precision and certainty in setting aflame the fibrous wick, and, second, the sulfur saturated or impregnated wick will burn readily, at which time the flame emanating from the wick is of a substantially invisible character and is free from the black dense smoke which characterizes the combustion of wax or parafiin as heretofore used.

In this specification we have defined the pellets on the tape as having exposed surfaces, 11. e. the pellets are not coated with paraffin or other substances which while precluding the accession of moisture also interferes to a marked extent with the frictional contact with said pellets of the means required to set them afiame. It is not intended, however, to so define the pellets as to preclude water proofing thereof by any material or agency which will at the same time enable the ignition thereof to be effected with facility.

Having thus fully described the invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An ignition tape composed of a strip of fibrous material of an absorbent flexible nature, the same being saturated with sulfur and having continuous coatings upon the margins and the respective surfaces of said strip, and pellets of ignitible material imposed upon the sulfur oating on one surface of the strip,said sulfur coating on one surface of the strip being exposed intermediate the pellets positioned upon said surface and the sulfur coating on the margins and the other surface of the strip being exposed continuously, said pellets of ignitiblematerial being free from coatings and exposed for frictional contact.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names- FREDERICK FEAR. ALBERT E. N ALDRETT. WILMER C- NICODEMUS.

copies ot this potent may be obtained for five cent: each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." 

